The Alexandria Aces finished their ninth season in 2016 and we'd like to thank you for all the support that you provided us throughout the season. We finished with an overall record of 23-17 during the regular season which was 3rd place in the Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League (www.calripkenleague.org).
We played our games at Frank Mann Field, behind Cora Kelly School, located at 3700 Commonwealth Avenue, in Alexandria, which is a part of Four Mile Run Park, right behind Jack Taylor's Alexandria Toyota on Route One.

After a rainout on Saturday and another on Monday, the Aces and the Big Train will play a crucial doubleheader tonight. The Aces are three games behind for first place in the South Division and need to win both games to remain in the hunt for the division. The Big Train lead the season series, 2-1, with wins on June 25 and July 3, while the Aces were victorious on June 15.

After scoring 13 runs in each of their two previous games, the bats went quiet on Sunday versus Grays pitching. The Aces could only muster one run on six hits, with the run coming in the second inning on two singles and an error.

Tyler Morder (Seton Hill) took the loss despite an eight-inning performance that was one of the best starts by an Aces pitcher this season. His only blemish was the bottom of the fourth, in which he gave up the two runs on four hits and a sac fly. Through the other seven innings, Morder allowed just three other hits. The last time the Aces faced the Big Train, their starter took a similarly tough loss — on July 3, Chesdin Harrington (U. of Virginia) tossed eight innings and allowed only one run on five hits, but the Aces lost the pitchers’ duel, 1-0.

Tonight, the Aces turn to D.C. native Jimmy Swad (Georgetown – 1-1, 3.29 ERA) in Game 1. Swad has been one of the team’s best starters, consistently going deep into games — only twice has he not gone six innings — and giving up no more than four runs in a start. He faced the Big Train on June 25, taking a no-decision in a six-inning outing in which he allowed two runs on four hits.

Micah Kaczor (Western Kentucky U. – 3-1, 4.84 ERA) takes the mound in Game 2. Kaczor has worked as both a starter and a reliever, racking up a team-high three saves. He had a superb outing his last time out, pitching seven innings of two-run, seven-hit ball on July 11 against the Riverdogs. It was his longest start of the season, and he struck out a season-high eight batters.

The first of the two seven-inning games is at 5 pm at Frank Mann Field, with the second following the conclusion of the first. If you can’t make it, be sure to follow the game live on Twitter (@Alexandria_Aces) or tune into Aces Radio.

After a loss to the Grays yesterday, the Aces play a crucial doubleheader against the Big Train tonight. Coupled with a Big Train loss yesterday, the Aces remain three games behind for first place in the South Division and need to win both games to remain in the hunt for the division. The Big Train lead the season series, 2-1, with wins on June 25 and July 3, while the Aces were victorious on June 15.

After scoring 13 runs in each of their last two games, the bats went quiet yesterday versus Grays pitching. The Aces could only muster one run on six hits, with the run coming in the second inning on two singles and an error.

Tyler Morder (Seton Hill) took the loss despite an eight-inning performance that was one of the best starts by an Aces pitcher this season. His only blemish was the bottom of the fourth, in which he gave up the two runs on four hits and a sac fly. Through the other seven innings, Morder allowed just three other hits. The last time the Aces faced the Big Train, their starter took a similarly tough loss — on July 3, Chesdin Harrington (U. of Virginia) tossed eight innings and allowed only one run on five hits, but the Aces lost the pitchers’ duel, 1-0.

Tonight, the Aces turn to D.C. native Jimmy Swad (Georgetown – 1-1, 3.29 ERA) in Game 1. Swad has been one of the team’s best starters, consistently going deep into games — only twice has he not gone six innings — and giving up no more than four runs in a start. He faced the Big Train on June 25, taking a no-decision in a six-inning outing in which he allowed two runs on four hits.

Micah Kaczor (Western Kentucky U. – 3-1, 4.84 ERA) takes the mound in Game 2. Kaczor has worked as both a starter and a reliever, racking up a team-high three saves. He had a superb outing his last time out, pitching seven innings of two-run, seven-hit ball on July 11 against the Riverdogs. It was his longest start of the season, and he struck out a season-high eight batters.

The first of the two seven-inning games is at 5 pm at Frank Mann Field, with the second following the conclusion of the first. If you can’t make it, be sure to follow the game live on Twitter (@Alexandria_Aces) or tune into Aces Radio.

In what was their quickest game of the season, the Alexandria Aces fell to the DC Grays by a score of 2-1 on the road Sunday afternoon. Alexandria, who needed a win if they wanted to have a likely chance of winning the South Division, could not muster any offense after pushing 26 runs across the plate in their last two contests coming in. The Aces dropped to 21-14 on the year while DC improved to 11-23.

After a rainout last night, the Aces are now 3.5 games back of the Bethesda Big Train for the South Division lead. With the loss today, the Aces will most likely need to take both games of the double header scheduled for tomorrow in order to stay in the hunt.

Tyler Morder (Seton Hill) shined for the Aces in one of the best starting outings for Alexandria all season. Morder went eight innings and surrendered just two runs, both coming in the bottom of the fourth inning. He mixed up his pitches and locations well to keep the Grays off balance. His outing matched the longest of the season for Alexandria as Chesdin Harrington (UVA) also went eight innings in a losing effort earlier this season. Morder only struck out three, after striking out seven in his previous start, but he scattered seven hits and got many batters out early in the count including an impressive three pitch inning in the bottom of the eighth.

The Aces, whose bats have been white hot recently, cooled down against the dynamic tandem of Jacob Erikson and Matt Dalke. Erikson went five innings giving up just four hits and exited with the lead. Dalke was even better, going four strong and allowing two hits over the final frames. The only run that the Aces scored against the two came in the second inning on a throwing error from DC.

For the Aces, again after putting up impressive stats at the plate the past two games, the bats came up empty this game. Niko Hulsizer (Morehead State) did have two hits, but outside of that the Aces were stymied at the plate. Alexandria only recorded six hits in the game, all of them singles. The game, as the score and stats indicate, was incredibly quick, finishing in under two hours.

The Aces will be right back at it tomorrow as they take on the Bethesda Big Train in a doubleheader at Frank Mann Field. The Aces will need to win both games if they want to stay in contention for the South Division title. Bethesda, with a win tonight and a win tomorrow, could officially lock things up in the south as well.

If you can’t make it to the game, you can follow along on Twitter (@Alexandria_Aces) or at Aces Radio. First pitch of game one is scheduled for 5pm and game two will follow accordingly.

A rainout on Saturday gave the Aces an unexpected off day, with a doubleheader versus the Big Train now scheduled for Monday. The Aces will instead attempt their sixth straight win against the D.C. Grays. The two teams have met four times, with the Aces leading their season series, 3-1. The Aces swept a June 26 doubleheader and had a victory on July 7, while the Grays won on June 16. The Aces are 21-13 and in second place in the South division, while the Grays are 10-23 and in last in the South.

On Friday, the Aces put 13 runs on the board for the second night in a row, once again matching their season high — they also did it on June 8 against the Express. The offensive outburst was highlighted by a Niko Hulsizer (Morehead State) two-run home run in the third inning, which brought the Aces all the way back from a three-run deficit and put them on top for good. Every Aces starter had a hit — in fact, all but two had multiple hits. Hulsizer and Liam McArthur (Seton Hall) set the pace with three hits apiece. The Aces have four regulars — Hulsizer, McArthur, Drew Huff (Middle Tennessee State), and Mike Annone (Wilmington) — with batting averages at .299 or higher.

AJ Spencer (Middle Tennessee State) threw four innings and allowed three runs on four hits and five walks. Evan Acosta (Western Kentucky U.) was stellar in relief, pitching three innings of one-hit ball.

Tonight, Tyler Morder (Seton Hill – 1-0, 2.00 ERA) takes the mound for the Aces. Morder has worked both as a starter and a reliever, but his last two outings have been starts. This will also be his second consecutive start against the Grays: on July 7, he pitched six outstanding innings, allowing no runs and five hits while striking out 7. The Grays will send up Bo Burrup, who is 2-4 with a 3.37 ERA. Burrup also pitched on July 7, throwing 4.1 innings in relief and allowing three runs on five hits.

The first pitch at this afternoon matchup is at 1 pm. If you can’t make it to Nationals Youth Academy, you can follow the game live on Twitter (@Alexandria_Aces) or tune into Aces Radio.